Alright, we’ve covered beating the Summertime blues so you feel energized and confident enough to get out and enjoy those Summer days and nights (cue Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and the gangs). We covered how to keep your skin safe and radiant, protected from the Sun during those adventures. We covered how to keep your food safe, healthy, and delicious during those adventures.
𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮!
As usual, hitting the highlights:
First, Hydration:
One coach I had used to say, “hydrate or die” this time of year. While it sounds extreme, he’s not wrong. Staying hydrated helps your heart more easily pump blood through your body…kinda vital for life! Dehydration can lead to issues from head aches to heat stroke (𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳).
But how much of what do you need? And what about electrolytes…do you need those?
There are a number of ways to tell how much water you specifically need during the day throughout the year. The easiest is using the urine color test. Look at your urine. The more yellow, generally speaking, the more dehydrated you are. Some medications and supplements can alter this, so check with your doc to confirm this eyeball test works for you. Another good rule of thumb, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Lastly, if you aren’t seating during a vigorous workout, you might be severely dehydrated.
Water is best. Other liquids do count toward your total intake but because they increase urination, they end up reducing their hydrating potential. Some foods, like cucumbers, watermelon, strawberries, tomatoes, and green peppers can also help. They have a high water content.
For a more in-depth look at hydration for adults and kids, check out this article from Family Doctor.
For help with kids specifically, check out this from Johns Hopkins.
Second, Heat Illnesses:
Heat-related illnesses include heat rash, sunburn, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Children, elderly, outdoor workers, and athletes/exercisers are more at risk. But don’t think this means you shouldn’t exercise!
Poor physical fitness/health can also increase your risk. As can alcohol, certain prescribed medications, certain medical conditions, being male, and having a prior incident can all increase your risk for heat illness.
Here’s a visual on the signs/symptoms and action steps for each, from the CDC.
According to a CDC report, an average of 702 heat-related deaths occurred annual in the United States between 2004 and 2018. In 415 cases, heat was the underlying cause. In 287, it was a contributing cause.
Don’t let this stop you from enjoying your Summer. Just be sure to enjoy it with awareness of your health risks and that of those around you! Keep that infographic handy. You never know!
𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴
𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨/𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟼-𝟶𝟽-𝟷𝟻-𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳-𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯/
𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘦𝘯/𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺-𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨/𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴/𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴/𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺
𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘸𝘩𝘺-𝘪𝘵𝘴-𝘴𝘰-𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵/
𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘤𝘥𝘤.𝘨𝘰𝘷/𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴/𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵/𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘭
𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘤𝘥𝘤.𝘨𝘰𝘷/𝘮𝘮𝘸𝘳/𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴/𝟼𝟿/𝘸𝘳/𝘮𝘮𝟼𝟿𝟸𝟺𝘢𝟷.𝘩𝘵𝘮
